After demurely having to admit that the German people prefer Obama over McCain by an overwhelming margin (67 percent to 6 percent), Kristol uses the rest of his much-awaited Monday morning NYT column to express his hope that Obama will be “for victory” when he addresses the expected huge crowds at the Siegessäule — the Victory Column — in Berlin.
Mr. Kristol ought not to worry. Senator Obama will eloquently and convincingly address victory in the real war on terrorism, just as President Obama will convincingly achieve victory over the “terrorists and jihadists, and those who support them“ by effectively dealing with them where they are and have always been and without taking his eye off the ball.
Kristol is right, there is “No Substitute for Victory” in the war on terrorism–a victory that we let slip away over six years ago in the mountains of Tora Bora and in the following months and years, because someone thought he had bigger fish to fry.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.